Michael Lawrence Coyne

About Michael Lawrence Coyne

Michael Lawrence Coyne is an independent director of Inception Growth Acquisition Limited (IGTA) since February 17, 2023, with capital markets, business development, and SPAC/TMT deal origination experience; he is Principal and Head of Capital Markets at Benjamin Securities (since January 2023), previously Head of Capital Markets at Ingalls & Snyder (2018–2023), and earlier led Equity Syndicate at Capital Integration Systems (2015–2018) . He holds a BA in political science and international affairs (Northeastern University, 2011) and an MBA (NYU Stern, 2019), and has FINRA Series 7, 63, 24, 79 and SIE licenses (with stated exam dates) . Age is not disclosed in IGTA proxy materials.

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Independence: IGTA identifies three independent directors under Nasdaq rules—Michael Lawrence Coyne, Albert Chang, and Yan Xu .
• Committees: Audit, Compensation, and Nominating Committees each comprise Coyne, Chang, and Xu; Yan Xu chairs Audit; Albert Chang chairs Compensation; Coyne chairs Nominating .
• Audit financial expert: Board determined Yan Xu is the Audit Committee “financial expert” per SEC rules (not Coyne) .
• Nominating practices: Charter emphasizes achievements, diverse perspectives, and ethics; stockholder nomination procedures detailed in proxy .
• Section 16 compliance: Company states all applicable filing requirements were complied with for 2023 .
• Attendance: Specific board/committee attendance rates are not disclosed in proxy materials.

Fixed Compensation

IGTA discloses no compensation to directors or executive officers prior to consummation of a business combination; only reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses is permitted, and the Sponsor receives a monthly administration fee (subject to audit committee deferral if needed) .

Performance Compensation

No incentive plans, performance metrics, stock awards, or options are disclosed for directors prior to IGTA’s initial business combination .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• FINRA licenses: Series 7 (9/2/2015), Series 63 (1/25/2016), Series 24 (9/24/2018), Series 79 (8/22/2018), SIE (10/1/2018) .
• Education: BA Northeastern University (2011); MBA NYU Stern (2019) .
• Domain expertise: Capital markets, SPAC transactions, TMT sector origination .
• Military leadership experience (Army National Guard/U.S. Army) .

Equity Ownership

• Pledging/hedging: No pledging or hedging disclosures for Coyne in proxy ownership tables .
• Vested vs unvested shares; options: Not disclosed for Coyne .

Insider Trades

Governance Assessment

• Committee leadership and coverage: Coyne chairs the Nominating Committee and sits on Audit and Compensation, providing broad oversight across director selection, financial reporting/related-party approval, and pay governance—positive for board effectiveness in a SPAC context .
• Independence and expertise mix: IGTA’s three independent directors meet Nasdaq independence requirements; however, the Audit Committee’s designated “financial expert” is Yan Xu, not Coyne—appropriate specialization but limits Coyne’s audit expertise signal .
• Pay-for-performance alignment: No director compensation or equity awards pre-business combination; Coyne holds 20,000 shares (<1%), offering some alignment but limited ownership skin-in-the-game relative to outstanding shares .
• Related-party governance: Audit Committee must review and approve related-party transactions, but IGTA states it has not yet adopted a formal related-party transaction policy—process exists via committee, yet absence of a formal policy is a governance gap.

  RED FLAG: No formal related-party policy adopted; reliance on audit committee procedures may reduce consistency of conflict management .

• SPAC/sponsor dynamics and regulatory risk: Sponsor controls 42.50% of outstanding shares and is foreign-controlled, which may trigger CFIUS review constraints for U.S. targets; this structure can influence transaction selection and timing and is material to investor confidence in governance outcomes .
• Liquidity/extension context: Securities are trading on OTC Markets post-Nasdaq delisting, with Sponsor-funded monthly extensions via loans forgiven if no business combination—board oversight of these arrangements is relevant to governance robustness .

Board Governance (Charter and Process Highlights)

• Compensation Committee retains authority to hire independent advisors and assesses advisor independence per Nasdaq/SEC standards .
• Audit Committee responsibilities include financial statement oversight, auditor independence, complaint procedures, and pre-approval of audit/non-audit services; specifically reviews and approves related-party transactions .
• Nominating Committee guidelines emphasize ethics, significant achievements, and diverse perspectives; stockholder nomination procedures are transparent .

Fixed Compensation (Detail Extracts)

• “None of our directors or executive officers has received any compensation from us…” and “we have not granted any equity-based awards” (pre-business combination) .
• Sponsor monthly admin fee: $10,000; payment may be delayed by audit committee determination; out-of-pocket reimbursements to insiders reviewed quarterly; no cap disclosed (subject to funds) .

Performance Compensation (Metrics and Plans)

• No incentive compensation or performance metrics applicable prior to initial business combination; no severance, CIC triggers, clawbacks, tax gross-ups, or perquisites disclosed for directors .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

• None disclosed for Coyne in IGTA proxy biographies; no public board interlocks specified .

Related Party Transactions (Policy and Oversight)

• Company has not adopted a formal related-party transactions policy; Audit Committee procedures and code of ethics guide conflict reviews and approvals .
• Ongoing/future insider transactions require prior approval by disinterested independent directors and must be no less favorable than third-party terms .

Equity Ownership Alignment

• Coyne’s reported beneficial ownership: 20,000 shares, less than 1% of 2,814,162 shares outstanding as of September 15, 2025 .
• No disclosures on pledging, hedging, or unvested/option holdings in proxy .

Risk Indicators & Red Flags

• No formal related-party transaction policy (RED FLAG) .
• Sponsor foreign control and high ownership (42.50%) raises potential CFIUS review constraints and transaction attractiveness risk .
• OTC trading status following Nasdaq delisting highlights liquidity/regulatory posture risks during the extension period .

Compensation Committee Analysis

• Composition: Independent directors (Coyne, Chang, Xu); chair: Albert Chang .
• Advisor use: Committee can retain advisors; independence assessed under Nasdaq/SEC standards .
• Director pay: Committee may recommend remuneration changes, but none paid pre-business combination .

Equity Ownership

Governance Assessment (Bottom Line)

• Positive: Independent status; chairs Nominating; broad committee involvement; transparent charter disclosures; Section 16 compliance noted .
• Caution: No formal related-party policy (process relies on Audit Committee); low disclosed ownership; SPAC sponsor control and CFIUS constraints may influence governance outcomes and investor confidence in deal execution .